John E. Fitzgerald Larceny Kentucky Straight Bourbon (46%, OB, 2017)
- Category: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Origin: Heaven Hill Distillery
- Bottling: Heaven Hill
- ABV: 46%
- Cost: £46.49
What They Say
Larceny Kentucky Straight Bourbon has its origins in the long and colorful history of John E. Fitzgerald and the Old Fitzgerald brand. According to lore, John E. Fitzgerald built a distillery on the banks of the Kentucky River in the 1870s and sold his fine Bourbon to rail lines, steamships, and private clubs. The Old Fitzgerald brand was first registered in the 1880s by S.C. Herbst, and was eventually sold to Julian P. “Pappy” Van Winkle during Prohibition. Pappy moved production of Old Fitz to his distillery where it became the first great wheated Bourbon and eventually one of the most famous Bourbon brands in the world.
Larceny was hand selected by the Master Distillers to have a taste profile of a six-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Made with wheat as the secondary grain, instead of the traditional rye, Larceny is a smoother tasting Bourbon.
Official tasting notes:
- Color: Bright new copper
- Nose: Fresh bread and toffee, with a note of butterscotch
- Taste: Buttery caramel and honeyed notes, with a rich mouthfeel
- Finish: Long, gently sweet and savory
What I Say
Larceny is a smooth, small batch Bourbon that uses wheat as the secondary grain after corn/maize in the mashbill rather than the more usual use of rye.
Larceny Bourbon gets its name from John E. Fitgerald, the bonded treasury agent who used his keys to the Kentucky warehouses to seek out and steal premium barrels of maturing bourbon, bottling them under his own brand Old Fitzgerald.
My tasting notes:
- Appearance: Dark gold (11/20) slow-forming, medium-sized tears leave medium-fine legs
- Nose: Strong, cedar wood or sandalwood, vanilla, oak, cigar boxes, sweet and fruity, peach skin, nectarine, golden syrup and honey, toasted oak, cereal, orange oil, fruitcake or sponge cake with orange oil.
- Taste: Light caramel, sweet honey and golden syrup, vanilla and a hint of cinnamon spice, with a touch of cider vinegar perhaps, aniseed and nutmeg, rich, creamy and syrupy, medium-full bodied, cereals, sponge-cake flavoured with orange oil.
- Finish: Medium, spirit, sweet polished cedar wood, fruit, hint of menthol or fresh mint leaf
Overall
A complex nose but much more straight-forward on the full-bodied palate, creamy and sweet and plenty of cedar wood.
Score 86/100
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